< 1 Kings 8 >

1 Then Solomon assembles the elderly of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, princes of the fathers of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon, to Jerusalem, to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH from the City of David—it [is] Zion;
At that time Solomon assembled before him in Jerusalem the elders of Israel—all the tribal heads and family leaders of the Israelites—to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Zion, the City of David.
2 and all the men of Israel are assembled to King Solomon, in the month of Ethanim, in the festival (the seventh month).
And all the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the feast in the seventh month, the month of Ethanim.
3 And all [the] elderly of Israel come in, and the priests lift up the Ark,
When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark,
4 and bring up the Ark of YHWH, and the Tent of Meeting, and all the holy vessels that [are] in the tent, indeed, the priests and the Levites bring them up.
and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the Tent of Meeting with all its sacred furnishings. So the priests and Levites carried them up.
5 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who are assembled to him [are] with him before the Ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that are not counted nor numbered for multitude.
There, before the ark, King Solomon and the whole congregation of Israel who had assembled with him sacrificed so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.
6 And the priests bring in the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH to its place, to the oracle of the house, to the Holy of Holies, to the place of the wings of the cherubim;
Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, beneath the wings of the cherubim.
7 for the cherubim are spreading forth two wings to the place of the Ark, and the cherubim cover over the Ark, and over its poles from above;
For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its poles.
8 and they lengthen the poles, and the heads of the poles are seen from the holy [place] on the front of the oracle, and are not seen outside, and they are there to this day.
The poles extended far enough that their ends were visible from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are there to this day.
9 There is nothing in the Ark, only the two tablets of stone which Moses put there in Horeb when YHWH covenanted with the sons of Israel in their going out of the land of Egypt.
There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites after they had come out of the land of Egypt.
10 And it comes to pass, in the going out of the priests from the holy [place], that the cloud has filled the house of YHWH,
And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD
11 and the priests have not been able to stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of YHWH has filled the house of YHWH.
so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.
12 Then Solomon said, “YHWH has said [He is] to dwell in thick darkness;
Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.
13 I have surely built a house of habitation for You; a fixed place for Your abiding for all ages.”
I have indeed built You an exalted house, a place for You to dwell forever.”
14 And the king turns his face around, and blesses the whole assembly of Israel; and all the assembly of Israel is standing.
And as the whole assembly of Israel stood there, the king turned around and blessed them all
15 And he says, “Blessed [is] YHWH, God of Israel, who spoke by His mouth with my father David, and by His hand has fulfilled [it], saying,
and said: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has fulfilled with His own hand what He spoke with His mouth to my father David, saying,
16 From the day that I brought out My people, even Israel, from Egypt, I have not fixed on a city out of all the tribes of Israel, to build a house for My Name being there; and I fix on David to be over My people Israel.
‘Since the day I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house so that My Name would be there. But I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’
17 And it is with the heart of my father David to build a house for the Name of YHWH, God of Israel,
Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
18 and YHWH says to my father David, Because that it has been with your heart to build a house for My Name, you have done well that it has been with your heart;
But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Since it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you have done well to have this in your heart.
19 only, you do not build the house, but your son who is coming out from your loins, he builds the house for My Name.
Nevertheless, you are not the one to build it; but your son, your own offspring, will build the house for My Name.’
20 And YHWH establishes His word which He spoke, and I am risen up instead of my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as YHWH spoke, and build the house for the Name of YHWH, God of Israel,
Now the LORD has fulfilled the word that He spoke. I have succeeded my father David, and I sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised. I have built the house for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
21 and I set a place for the Ark there, where the covenant of YHWH [is], which He made with our fathers in His bringing them out from the land of Egypt.”
And there I have provided a place for the ark, which contains the covenant of the LORD that He made with our fathers when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
22 And Solomon stands before the altar of YHWH, in front of all the assembly of Israel, and spreads his hands toward the heavens,
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven,
23 and says, “YHWH, God of Israel, there is not a God like You, in the heavens above and on the earth below, keeping the covenant and the kindness for Your servants, those walking before You with all their heart,
and said: “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth below, keeping Your covenant of loving devotion with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts.
24 which You have kept for Your servant, my father David, that which You spoke to him; indeed, You speak with Your mouth, and with Your hand have fulfilled [it], as [at] this day.
You have kept Your promise to Your servant, my father David. What You spoke with Your mouth You have fulfilled with Your hand this day.
25 And now, YHWH, God of Israel, keep for Your servant, my father David, that which You spoke to him, saying, A man of yours is never cut off from before My face, sitting on the throne of Israel—only, if your sons watch their way, to walk before Me as you have walked before Me.
Therefore now, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for Your servant, my father David, what You promised when You said: ‘You will never fail to have a man to sit before Me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants guard their way to walk before Me as you have done.’
26 And now, O God of Israel, please let Your word be established which You have spoken to Your servant, my father David.
And now, O God of Israel, please confirm what You promised to Your servant, my father David.
27 But is it true [that] God dwells on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heavens of the heavens cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!
But will God indeed dwell upon the earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.
28 Then You have turned to the prayer of Your servant, and to his supplication, O YHWH my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today,
Yet regard the prayer and plea of Your servant, O LORD my God, so that You may hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant is praying before You today.
29 for Your eyes being open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, My Name is there; to listen to the prayer which Your servant prays toward this place.
May Your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that You may hear the prayer that Your servant prays toward this place.
30 Then You have listened to the supplication of Your servant, and of Your people Israel, which they pray toward this place; indeed, You listen in the place of Your dwelling, in the heavens—and You have listened, and have forgiven,
Hear the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. May You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place. May You hear and forgive.
31 that which a man sins against his neighbor, and he has lifted up an oath on him to cause him to swear, and the oath has come in before Your altar in this house,
When a man sins against his neighbor and is required to take an oath, and he comes to take an oath before Your altar in this temple,
32 then You hear in the heavens, and have done, and have judged Your servants, to declare wicked the wicked, to put his way on his [own] head, and to declare righteous the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
then may You hear from heaven and act. May You judge Your servants, condemning the wicked man by bringing down on his own head what he has done, and justifying the righteous man by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
33 In Your people Israel being struck before an enemy, because they sin against You, and they have turned back to You, and have confessed Your Name, and prayed, and made supplication to You in this house,
When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and they return to You and confess Your name, praying and pleading with You in this temple,
34 then you hear in the heavens, and have forgiven the sin of Your people Israel, and brought them back to the ground that You gave to their fathers.
then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel. May You restore them to the land You gave to their fathers.
35 In the heavens being restrained, and there is no rain, because they sin against You, and they have prayed toward this place, and confessed Your Name, and turn back from their sin, for You afflict them,
When the skies are shut and there is no rain because Your people have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and they turn from their sins because You have afflicted them,
36 then You hear in the heavens, and have forgiven the sin of Your servants, and of Your people Israel, for You direct them [to] the good way in which they go, and have given rain on Your land which You have given to Your people for inheritance.
then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance.
37 Famine—when it is in the land; pestilence—when it is [in the land]; blasting, mildew, locust; caterpillar—when it is [in the land]; when its enemy has distressed it in the land [in] its gates, any plague, any sickness—
When famine or plague comes upon the land, or blight or mildew or locusts or grasshoppers, or when their enemy besieges them in their cities, whatever plague or sickness may come,
38 any prayer, any supplication that [is] of any man of all Your people Israel, each who knows the plague of his own heart, and has spread his hands toward this house,
then may whatever prayer or petition Your people Israel make—each knowing his own afflictions and spreading out his hands toward this temple—
39 then You hear in the heavens, the settled place of Your dwelling, and have forgiven, and have done, and have given to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You have known—You alone—the heart of all the sons of man),
be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and act, and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of all men—
40 so that they fear You all the days that they are living on the face of the ground that You have given to our fathers.
so that they may fear You all the days they live in the land that You gave to our fathers.
41 And also, to the stranger who is not of Your people Israel, and has come from a far-off land for Your Name’s sake—
And as for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your name—
42 for they hear of Your great Name, and of Your strong hand, and of Your outstretched arm—and he has come in and prayed toward this house,
for they will hear of Your great name and mighty hand and outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple,
43 You hear in the heavens, the settled place of Your dwelling, and have done according to all that the stranger calls to You for, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your Name, to fear You like Your people Israel, and to know that Your Name has been called on this house which I have built.
then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You. Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and they will know that this house I have built is called by Your Name.
44 When Your people go out to battle against its enemy, in the way that You send them, and they have prayed to YHWH [in] the way of the city which you have fixed on, and of the house which I have built for Your Name,
When Your people go to war against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the LORD in the direction of the city You have chosen and the house I have built for Your Name,
45 then You have heard their prayer and their supplication in the heavens, and have maintained their cause.
then may You hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and may You uphold their cause.
46 When they sin against You (for there is not a man who does not sin), and You have been angry with them, and have given them up before an enemy, and they have taken captive their captivity to the land of the enemy far off or near;
When they sin against You—for there is no one who does not sin—and You become angry with them and deliver them to an enemy who takes them as captives to his own land, whether far or near,
47 and they have turned [it] back to their heart in the land to where they have been taken captive, and have turned back, and made supplication to You in the land of their captors, saying, We have sinned and done perversely—we have done wickedly;
and when they come to their senses in the land to which they were taken, and they repent and plead with You in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong; we have acted wickedly,’
48 indeed, they have turned back to You with all their heart and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and have prayed to You [in] the way of their land, which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your Name:
and when they return to You with all their heart and soul in the land of the enemies who took them captive, and when they pray to You in the direction of the land that You gave to their fathers, the city You have chosen, and the house I have built for Your Name,
49 then You have heard in the heavens, the settled place of Your dwelling, their prayer and their supplication, and have maintained their cause,
then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, their prayer and petition, and may You uphold their cause.
50 and have forgiven Your people who have sinned against You, even all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You, and have given them mercies before their captors, and they have had mercy [on] them—
May You forgive Your people who have sinned against You and all the transgressions they have committed against You, and may You grant them compassion in the eyes of their captors to show them mercy.
51 for they [are] Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, out of the midst of the furnace of iron—
For they are Your people and Your inheritance; You brought them out of Egypt, out of the furnace for iron.
52 for Your eyes being open to the supplication of Your servant, and to the supplication of Your people Israel, to listen to them in all they call to You for;
May Your eyes be open to the pleas of Your servant and of Your people Israel, and may You listen to them whenever they call to You.
53 for You have separated them to Yourself for an inheritance, out of all the peoples of the earth, as You spoke by the hand of Your servant Moses, in Your bringing out our fathers from Egypt, O Lord YHWH.”
For You, O Lord GOD, as Your inheritance, have set them apart from all the peoples of the earth, as You spoke through Your servant Moses when You brought our fathers out of Egypt.”
54 And it comes to pass, at Solomon’s finishing to pray to YHWH all this prayer and supplication, he has risen from before the altar of YHWH, from bending on his knees and [having] his hands spread out to the heavens,
Now when Solomon had finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the LORD, he got up before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven.
55 and he stands and blesses all the assembly of Israel [with] a loud voice, saying,
And he stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:
56 “Blessed [is] YHWH who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He has spoken; not [even] one word has fallen of all His good word, which He spoke by the hand of His servant Moses.
“Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel according to all that He promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises He made through His servant Moses.
57 Our God YHWH is with us as He has been with our fathers; He does not forsake us nor leave us;
May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He never leave us nor forsake us.
58 to incline our heart to Himself, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commands, and His statutes, and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers;
May He incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep the commandments and statutes and ordinances He commanded our fathers.
59 and these, my words, with which I have made supplication before YHWH, are near to our God YHWH by day and by night, to maintain the cause of His servant, and the cause of His people Israel, the matter of a day in its day,
And may these words with which I have made my petition before the LORD be near to the LORD our God day and night, so that He may uphold the cause of His servant and of His people Israel as each day requires,
60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that He, YHWH, [is] God; there is none else;
so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God. There is no other!
61 and your heart has been perfect with our God YHWH, to walk in His statutes, and to keep His commands, as [at] this day.”
So let your heart be fully devoted to the LORD our God, as it is this day, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments.”
62 And the king and all Israel with him are sacrificing a sacrifice before YHWH;
Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD.
63 and Solomon sacrifices the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he has sacrificed to YHWH: twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep; and the king and all the sons of Israel dedicate the house of YHWH.
And Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the house of the LORD.
64 On that day the king has sanctified the middle of the court that [is] before the house of YHWH, for he has made the burnt-offering, and the present, and the fat of the peace-offerings there; for the altar of bronze that [is] before YHWH [is] too small to contain the burnt-offering, and the present, and the fat of the peace-offerings.
On that same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard in front of the house of the LORD, and there he offered the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, since the bronze altar before the LORD was too small to contain all these offerings.
65 And Solomon makes, at that time, the festival—and all Israel with him, a great assembly from the entering in of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt—before our God YHWH, [for] seven days and seven [more] days—fourteen days.
So at that time Solomon and all Israel with him—a great assembly of people from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt—kept the feast before the LORD our God for seven days and seven more days—fourteen days in all.
66 On the eighth day he has sent the people away, and they bless the king, and go to their tents, rejoicing and glad of heart for all the good that YHWH has done to His servant David, and to His people Israel.
On the fifteenth day Solomon sent the people away. So they blessed the king and went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things that the LORD had done for His servant David and for His people Israel.

< 1 Kings 8 >